courtly love
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courtly love
n.
An idealized and often illicit form of love celebrated in the literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in which a knight or courtier devotes himself to a noblewoman who is usually married and feigns indifference to preserve her reputation.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
courtly love
n
(Literary & Literary Critical Terms) a tradition represented in Western European literature between the 12th and the 14th centuries, idealizing love between a knight and a revered (usually married) lady
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
court′ly love′
n.
a highly stylized code of conduct between lovers, often the subject of medieval literature.
[1895–1900]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. | courtly love - (Middle Ages) a highly conventionalized code of conduct for lovers code of behavior, code of conduct - a set of conventional principles and expectations that are considered binding on any person who is a member of a particular group Dark Ages, Middle Ages - the period of history between classical antiquity and the Italian Renaissance |
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